The orange blur that was Scootaloo sped down the path in her skates, which were new. She was happy and pleased to meet with her crew, but was shocked when Twilight called to her. "Hey, you!"
She turned her hoof and came to stop. "Hi there, Twilight! Look what I've got! New roller skates, fresh from the shop!" She smiled and beamed and had a small hop.
Twilight ran up and started to yell. "From across the street, I almost couldn't tell, but look at you now! You're too fast and, well, I needed to ask, have you seen Sweetie Belle?"
"I'm on my way to meet with my friends!"
"That's good! Say, um, I don't mean to offend, but where is your scooter? Did it meet its end?"
"Yeah, it's too bad, it has a large bend."
"I can fix it for you if you would prefer!" Twilight looked frantic as she stared at her.
Scootaloo shook her head. "No thank you! Er... Why do you ask?" Her wings flapped and whirred.
"Oh, it's only that you're always with it! We all thought it was a child's commitment to have one favorite toy and to never quit. But these skates, you know, don't seem like they fit."
"They are a tad tight, but it's quite all right. They're light, and bright, and just look at—"
"Just sit tight?"
Scootaloo's smile stilled. She looked up. "What for?"
"So I can fix your scooter's bend!"
"But I don't need it any more."
"It's not just for you. It's for all of us, too!"
"If you want to, feel free, but the skates are good for me."
"But I just—"
"Sorry, Your Highness. I need to meet my friends. We're playing pony chess!"
With a spin and a flap and a great big cheer, Scootaloo turned around and went into gear. She kicked off and rolled down the street with no fear of tripping or tipping or needing to steer. She rolled and she grinned and she laughed all the way to the end of the road with no ounce of delay, leaving Twilight alone with a little dirt spray.
Twilight cursed to herself. "Oh, hay."
It was strange and so new and too odd to express, and her friends would be worried. But nonetheless, she had an idea (or at least a best guess) of what she could do in this time of distress.
"This isn't good, it's not good at all. A scooter replaced? Did Scootaloo fall? I need to go back to Applejack's stall and tell her we'll need Rainbow's plan after all. If Scootaloo doesn't go back very soon, then life might become just like a balloon, with changes and stresses until POP! We are doomed. I'd better fix this before tomorrow at noon."
So Twilight turned and started to run to her friend Applejack, who was also quite stunned. Together, they wondered if ruining fun was a worthwhile price, and they soon begun to gather their friends to make a new scheme, one that would have them work as a team. It was vital that they don't come off as too mean, but Scootaloo had just made things a bad dream.
The two friends were close by and saw Scootaloo. They jumped up and down like a kangaroo. Cheering and happy, they eagerly threw a chess piece toward her, which bounced off her shoe. She giggled and juggled the piece of the game, expertly showing her talented aim as it went back and forth, though she did feel some shame when it went too high up and she said "Aw, that's lame."
"Hey there, Scoot! Wow, look at those!" Apple Bloom bent down until her nose was level with the skates. "Ah suppose you got these today! They're the ones you chose?"
"Yep! They're so cool, and also real bright! Now I'll be seen if I'm out in the night. Though I think the left ones are smaller than the right," she added, ending the word with a bite.
"Uh-oh, is it bad? I know that you wished to get a good set. Last week, when you missed the landing on your scooter and you hurt your wrist, you wanted something new."
She nodded and hissed. "The soreness I felt isn't quite healed just yet. I think I just thought that I would forget about the pain by the time I went over to get these skates from the shop. But it's okay, no sweat."
Sweetie Belle returned from getting the piece of the chess game they would play. "Can we please keep these close by next time? Jeeze!" Scoot laughed in her face and she held back a sneeze.
"Did you know that the Princess was looking for you?"
Sweetie turned around. "Yes, I knew."
"What did she want?"
"It has been two days after the date that this was all due." She held up the chess piece and the rest of the game, letting them see the stamp with the name "Twilight Sparkle's First Edition" in the same corner as the brand of Highest Acclaim.
"Whoa, how 'bout that? Our good friend just broke her good promise! She's setting a trend of taking and keeping from those who would lend any books, games, or toys! What a pretend!"
Sweetie Belle grinned, and she said with some pride, "It was easy! When I went all puppy-eyed, Twilight faltered and flustered and probably cried to let me borrow a game I've never tried."
"We're so proud of you!"
"Why, thanks, Scootaloo!"
"It's almost enough to give you a clue!" A week before now, she and her crew had hidden an item that Sweetie Belle knew. They made a game to see just how long it would take before Sweetie Belle broke into song that told how much she missed it, and how she'd stay strong until she found where it was all along.
"Almost, but not quite?" Sweetie Belle said.
Apple Bloom chimed in, "Sorry! Instead, why don't we all head in and snack on some bread, then play some good games?" She rubbed at her head.
"I love that idea! Let's go do that right now!" Scootaloo said while figuring out how to undo her laces. "Grr... Wow, these really are tight. Just...hmmph...how?"
"Use your teeth!" said one friend. "Just pull when you start!"
"Use your brain!" said the other. "It's easy to outsmart!"
"I'll use what I use! I'll listen to my heart!" Scootaloo argued while fighting the knot.
While the friends sat and bickered over whose way was right, Rainbow Dash was nearby observing their fight. She made mental notes of the distressing sight before turning around and taking flight. She flew back to Ponyville's library tree with a measure of haste, at least some degree, until she arrived just in time to see Applejack saying "Y'all should've listened to me!"
"AJ, hold on!" called the pegasus blur. "Is Twilight inside? Have you seen her?"
"Howdy, Rainbow. Yeah, uh, we were figuring out if the worst will occur. Head on inside and see to the plan. Ah'm headin' home to see if I can prep for the storm and to help out my gran." Applejack then waved goodbye and ran.
With a nod to her friend, Rainbow Dash waved, then turned to the door with a worried gaze. She opened the library, eager to save the world from becoming something enslaved. Her friends were all there, worried like her - Rarity had shown up with frazzled fur - and talking so loud she would almost prefer to keep the library rules like they were.
"There you are, Rainbow! Quick!" Twilight cried. "It seems that your fear was justified. Now we all need a plan to decide how we can save the countryside."
"That's why I'm here," Rainbow said to the group. "We've always been safe when we work as a troop. Now listen, you guys, if we need to dupe Scootaloo, we need to do more than just snoop..."
Rarity shivered throughout the few moments it took for them to review the plan for them all to convince Scootaloo to go back to the old and get rid of the new. She spasmed and cast her worrying eye to Rainbow Dash, still way up high. The plan would involve a steady supply of methods to scare, even terrify, a poor young filly who had only wished to get around quick. But she hadn't missed the urgency to make sure the pegasus switched back to the scooter. They had to insist.
"It's like this," Rainbow said while above the floor. "I challenge the kid to a game. You keep score and make sure she knows that she'll win much more if she goes back to the scooter that she had before."
"And what will happen if she doesn't comply?"
Twilight looked up from her map nearby. "Things will get too imbalanced! We'll try to fix all of this, but she can't learn why."
"Imbalanced? Because she got some new skates?"
"Yes! All of Ponyville is now at stake!"
"I don't get it," she said with a shake. "What difference would an old, dirty scooter make?"
With a groan of aggravation and shock, Twilight's hoof hit the table and knocked. She used her magic to pull out some chalk and her board, setting up next to a clock. "According to legends of ponies and things, back before wizards or dragons or kings, a balance was kept for creatures with wings," she explained, drawing a diagram with rings. "If that balance is shaken or gone for a day? The region would be thrown into disarray! Orchards and buildings and ponies at play would vanish, and that is not okay!"
Rarity looked at the board and her friend with suspicion. While she didn't intend to let anything bad happen while she could defend her hometown, this was something she couldn't comprehend. "But what does the scooter have to do with it? Are you saying that the skates are unfit for a filly to have?"
Dash decided to sit down next to Rarity. Her features were split. "It's a legend that goes back as far as magic, too. I admit that it's something I always knew might happen, even if I hoped it was untrue. But trust me, it's a legend we need to pursue!"
Spike walked in and ruined the rhyme. "Hey, everypony," he said.
"Spike, shut your mouth, and stay over there!" Pinkie cried out with a sudden glare. "We're discussing the future of Ponyville! Don't you care?"
Twilight walked up next to Pinkie's chair. "Be nice," she said while smoothing a knot. "He doesn't know enough to help, but it's not his fault. After all, there aren't a lot of ponies who know this legend. It's a mysterious plot."
Spike turned around and left with a huff. Twilight then turned to her friends. "But, enough. We need to save Ponyville, so we need to act tough, and we can't allow Scootaloo to say it's a bluff. Rainbow Dash, go back out and find her, all right? You can find her while you are in flight."
"Got it," she said. "I'll be back by tonight." Then she flew out the door with all of her might.
